How teachers in France are shifting focus to build a confident society
| Paris
At the Bienfaisance preschool,听Docteur Doux听鈥� Doctor Gentle 鈥� has given new meaning to being sent to the principal鈥檚 office.
The child-sized teddy bear sits under a tent in a cozy corner of Principal Caroline听Loiseau鈥檚听office, in what has been dubbed the 鈥淚nfirmary of Emotions.鈥�
Shelves of calming toys offer children the opportunity to manage big feelings. There are glowing bouncy balls, bubble wrap and 鈥撎齮he students鈥� favorite听鈥� a shoebox fashioned into an angry face, where kids can stuff crumpled pieces of paper into the awaiting mouth.听Today, a 4-year-old听sits with Docteur Doux, as she gets over being pushed by a classmate at recess.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onIn France, strict classrooms are giving way to ones where feelings are discussed more openly. How might that shift change student experiences 鈥� and French society?
鈥淗ow are you feeling?听Is this helping you to calm you down?鈥澨齛sks Ms.听Loiseau, squatting down next to the young girl in her Paris office, handing her a fidget toy.
鈥淎t first, when we asked students how they were, they could only nod or shake their heads,鈥� Ms. Loiseau says. 鈥淣ow, they can identify their emotions.鈥�
Gone are the days of being 鈥渟ent to the corner鈥� or learning by humiliation 鈥� at least here. Upstairs, teacher Marie Mallet helps children name and handle emotions by doing role-play games to practice resolving conflict three times a week.听And despite the setting, a visit to听Docteur Doux听and the Infirmary of Emotions is not a punishment. Children are encouraged to go there as part of a wider effort by the school to promote emotional awareness, among students as well as teaching staff.听
The听Bienfaisance preschool听is one of a growing听number of institutions that are working to change the way public education functions in France. What was once a distanced, authoritative approach is beginning to resemble a model more common in North America 鈥� one that promotes student well-being and positive relationships between students and teachers.
At the heart of the shift are teaching methods that combine cognitive science and secure attachment theory, which promotes the emotional bond between caregiver and child.
Progress has been slow on a national scale 鈥� in a country where education is highly centralized and results often hard to come by. But educators at the grassroots level are getting on board, as more research points to the link between emotional well-being at school听and its听benefits听in adulthood.听
鈥淚f we can help people build a sense of attachment and security at school during childhood, they will be able to better handle uncertainties in life,鈥澨齭ays Michel Delage,听a听psychiatrist听at the nonprofit Vivre en Famille (Living with Family) and a specialist in听secure听attachment theory. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no doubt that what we learn at school affects how we act as adults.鈥澨�
Defining teacher roles
These ideas are blossoming in a country where ambiguity remains about how much teachers should act as 鈥渟ubstitute parents鈥� or fill emotional gaps.听Some of that is rooted in lingering听conceptions听that once drove the country鈥檚 approach to learning: Instruction was for teachers; education 鈥� nourishing and raising 鈥� was for parents.
鈥淧revious teaching methods were based on authority, discipline, and the child who obeys. It was never contested,鈥� says Philippe Fabry, an independent educator in child protection and social work. 鈥淏ut now, we鈥檙e in a society based more on autonomy. In order to develop autonomy, you need to build self-confidence. And attachment, or feeling secure, is a determining factor in having self-confidence.鈥澨�
鈥淚n France, these ideas have always been spoken about in relation to the family, not school, but this is a mistake,鈥� he adds.
In 2015, France鈥檚 Education Ministry made changes to the national program to reflect society鈥檚 evolution. Teachers of all grade levels were encouraged to help children grow as individuals听and cooperate with others, as well as help them express their feelings and develop a sense of self.听
Those who work with children say a range of students can benefit from this kind of shift, but especially those who are already struggling. According to a 2021 on well-being in France, students in fifth听grade from low-income areas showed a markedly lower level of self-confidence than their peers.
鈥淲e have students who are very intelligent but because they鈥檙e at the lower end of the social ladder, they don鈥檛 succeed,鈥� says Mr Fabry. 鈥淚n France we have a real problem with social advancement. How can we better invest in people? Having confidence in them and making them feel secure in school are some things that can help.鈥澨�
One way French schools 鈥� public and private 鈥� are investing in the future is by joining hands with 肠辞驳苍颈鈥檆濒补蝉蝉别蝉, an initiative of the nonprofit听Apprendre et Former Avec les Sciences Cognitives听(Learn and Train With Cognitive Sciences) that is now used in more than 4,000 classes from preschool to high school听鈥� including several at Bienfaisance.听As part of the program, which dates back to 2011, participating schools commit to taking a more experimental approach to teaching and helping students build confidence, in an effort to reduce learning difficulties.
Though their school is not part of the 肠辞驳苍颈鈥檆濒补蝉蝉别蝉 program, educators at the French-English bilingual Lab School Paris, a private secular school, use data听and experimentation听to identify ways to support learning.听That includes making school feel like a safe space.
鈥淎 specific feature of French students is that when they don鈥檛 know an answer on a multiple-choice test, they will leave it blank instead of taking a guess,鈥� says Pascale Haag, a psychologist and听the scientific director听of Lab School Paris, where she studies the latest education research.听鈥淚n France, there is a big fear of making a mistake or giving the wrong answer. And yet, research also shows us that when students feel safe in class, they express themselves. If they don鈥檛 understand, they鈥檒l ask.鈥澨�
Observers say this intense desire to avoid error may come from an ingrained cultural tendency toward mockery in social interactions, even in classroom settings, which makes the French sensitive to ridicule.
鈥淚t depends on what led up to them being mocked, and each person will experience their own errors differently,鈥� says Michel Fors茅, a director of research emeritus at the Paris-based National Center for Scientific Research and an expert in well-being. 鈥淏ut if someone feels good in their skin, they鈥檒l let an error roll off their back. Those who don鈥檛 will be much more affected.鈥�
鈥淣ever too early to start鈥�
Changing old habits is still a work in progress in Nyasha Hicks鈥� grade four classroom at Lab School Paris. During a morning exercise, students sit at their desks solving math problems, and raise their hands when they finish. Ms. Hicks gives them their time, which they diligently write down. One boy is disappointed when he finishes after the others.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter,鈥� says Ms. Hicks, moving between the intentionally arranged semicircle of desks. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not comparing ourselves with other people!鈥澨�听
A model that promotes student confidence and well-being can be听a hard sell in France, which still relies heavily on a system of competition from the elementary to university level.听The results of the national 产补肠肠补濒补耻谤茅补迟 graduation exam听for high school seniors, for example, are made public online.
Not all teachers are on board either, and some say that may be a generational issue.听Ms. Mallet, from the Bienfaisance school, says that learning about fostering students鈥� psycho-emotional health was part of her teacher training in 2018. But those who entered the field decades ago may have brushed off the ministry鈥檚 advice in 2015 or lack proper training.
鈥淎s teachers, we鈥檙e visited by inspectors from time to time but it鈥檚 very rare,鈥� says Ms. Mallet. 鈥淚f you鈥檝e been a teacher for 40 years and haven鈥檛 been inspected for 20, you may not know about new methods. You stay in your old methods of teaching, of humiliating students, and no one says anything because no one sees it. It鈥檚 a big problem.鈥�
Educators at Lab School Paris as well as at the Bienfaisance preschool hope that in time, more听French schools will see the benefits of a teaching approach that aims to build more confident students.听
鈥淲e hope that what we鈥檙e putting in place will be carried through into kindergarten and beyond. In fact, we need to continue our entire lives,鈥� says Ms. Loiseau.听鈥淚f we want adults to feel good in their own skin and in life, we need to think about the words we choose.听It鈥檚 never too early to start.鈥�
